Tag Archives: DNA

Simple, Low-Cost Rig Lets the Budding Biohacker Run DNA Gels

Posted on by

We all the know the basic components for building out an electronics lab: breadboards, bench power supply, a selection of components, a multimeter, and maybe an oscilloscope. But what exactly do you need when you’re setting up a biohacking lab?

That’s the question that [Justin] from The Thought Emporium is trying to answer with a series of videos where he does exactly that – build a molecular biology lab from scratch. In the current installment, [Justin] covers the basics of agarose gel electrophoresis, arguably the fundamental skill for aspiring bio-geeks. Electrophoresis is simply using an electric field to separate a …read more

Continue reading Simple, Low-Cost Rig Lets the Budding Biohacker Run DNA Gels→

‘Society Will Decide What to Do Next’: Chinese Researchers Claim to Create the First Gene-Edited Babies

Posted on by

The researchers claim the DNA of twin girls was altered to protect them against HIV, but the results haven’t been published in a scientific journal and many researchers are questioning the ethical and scientific validity of the claim. Continue reading ‘Society Will Decide What to Do Next’: Chinese Researchers Claim to Create the First Gene-Edited Babies→

Mailing Tech Support a Bomb

Posted on by

I understand his frustration, but this is extreme: When police asked Cryptopay what could have motivated Salonen to send the company a pipe bomb ­ or, rather, two pipe bombs, which is what investigators found when they picked apart the explosive package ­ the only thing the company could think of was that it had declined his request for a… Continue reading Mailing Tech Support a Bomb→

Hacked Heating Instruments for the DIY Biology Lab

Posted on by

[Justin] from The Thought Emporium takes on a common molecular biology problem with these homebrew heating instruments for the DIY biology lab.

The action at the molecular biology bench boils down to a few simple tasks: suck stuff, spit stuff, cool stuff, and heat stuff. Pipettes take care of the sucking and spitting, while ice buckets and refrigerators do the cooling. The heating, however, can be problematic; vessels of various sizes need to be accommodated at different, carefully controlled temperatures. It’s not uncommon to see dozens of different incubators, heat blocks, heat plates, and even walk-in environmental chambers in the …read more

Continue reading Hacked Heating Instruments for the DIY Biology Lab→

How DNA Databases Violate Everyone’s Privacy

Posted on by

If you’re an American of European descent, there’s a 60% chance you can be uniquely identified by public information in DNA databases. This is not information that you have made public; this is information your relatives have made public. Research paper: "Identity inference of genomic data using long-range familial searches." Abstract: Consumer genomics databases have reached the scale of millions… Continue reading How DNA Databases Violate Everyone’s Privacy→

Cisco patches critical flaws in DNA Center and Prime Infrastructure

Posted on by

Networking giant Cisco has released patches for several of its products, warning that the updates are for critical bugs found during internal testing. Labeled CVE-2018-15379, a vulnerability in Cisco Digital Network Architecture (DNA) Center could allo… Continue reading Cisco patches critical flaws in DNA Center and Prime Infrastructure→